In an electronic equipment such as a mobile telephone set, a demand to further reduce a size is strong and components used therefor are in many cases of smaller size and of high packing density. In a flexible printed circuit board used in such a small size electronic equipment, an electrode (conductive pattern) pitch is narrowed and a contact pitch in a connector for connection with the printed circuit board is also narrowed to increase the package density.
However, in the prior art slide type of ZIF connector, there is a limit in narrowing the contact pitch by a structural reason. Thus, a connector which allows the reduction of the contact pitch to increase the package density without regard to the type of the connector has been demanded.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a surface mount connector for a flexible printed circuit board which allows the provision of contacts at a smaller pitch and which is of low profile (low height).
It is another object of the present invention to provide a surface mount connector for the flexible printed circuit board which permits automatic insertion of a connector body (insulator) and a slider.
In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a connector comprising an insulator, a plurality of contacts aligned longitudinally of said insulator and a slider, characterized in that said contacts are provided in said insulator with at least one end thereof and a portion of a central area thereof being exposed outward and said slider holds a flexible printed circuit board between said slider and said insulator, longitudinal opposite ends of said slider are connected to opposite ends of said insulator and said contacts are electrically connected to a conductive pattern of said printed circuit board at positions corresponding to a node of said slider.